About Us

ABOUT US

Clubhouse Gibraltar was first registered on 30th June 2011 and it is charity number is 213. On 29th January 2015 it was also registered under the Companies Ordinance and its status is also that of an incorporated Company Limited by guarantee and not having a share capital. The change is reflected in the Charities Register accordingly but the charity will still continue as Clubhouse Gibraltar and as charity No 213.

It is a not for profit organization that is providing support in the Community for those who have been affected by mental illness and mental health problems. It is self financing and relies on grants, donations and fund raising to provide face to face contact during a 45 hour weekly support with 5 qualified mental health professional free of charge. It is a psychosocial model which helps individuals develop to their full potential. The Clubhouse philosophy is that everyone can recover sufficiently from serious mental illness to lead satisfying lives.

Our History

Clubhouse Gibraltar was the brainchild of Emily Adamberry Olivero MBE, currently the CEO. Emily has been campaigning for a better quality of life for people affected by mental illness since 1992. She was invited to join ‘The Group’ that later became the Psychological Support Group in 1993 and Emily remained the Chairperson of this group until she stood down to focus on the development of Clubhouse Gibraltar. She discovered in 2009 at a Clubhouse International Seminar in Florida that the Clubhouse model provided all the support and back up that she had been looking for and much more.

The model was introduced to mental health professionals in 2010 at Bleak House and it was warmly embraced and encouraged. Potential premises were identified at Toc H and weekly meetings commenced there in September 2011. Initially these meetings which encompassed a work ordered day were led by Emily with the support of her sister Christine and some volunteers. The enthusiasm and encouragement by the members who attended (34 in the first year) helped the Clubhouse to continue and flourish as a restorative community and augured well for its development.

However Toc H was in a bad state of repair and the dampness was affecting some people’s health. However the need and demand to meet more frequently led to meetings being held at a cafeteria in Main Street twice a week in addition to once a week at Toch H. The Government of Gibraltar recognized our plight and offered the Clubhouse temporary accommodation at Wellington Front until more suitable premises were identified.

Clubhouse Gibraltar has now been allocated 304a Main Street by the Government of Gibraltar as their new premises. Although there is a need to renovate these premises and cure some dampness they are in a far better condition and more suitable than Toc H. However the funding for the renovation works have to be funded by donations to Clubhouse Gibraltar so a fund raising campaign has commenced in January 2018 to achieve this.

Our Staff

From Emily’s early beginnings on her own as a civil servant taking annual leave and some facility time she was seconded from the Civil Service in 2012. In December she recruited one of her professional volunteers, Tania Aguilar, a psychologist, and both attended a Clubhouse Training Course in Worcester, Massachusetts, which was funded by Kusuma Trust and this paved the way to ensure that everything started on the right footing and a strong foundation was laid. Tania is now the Deputy CEO at Clubhouse Gibraltar and they have grown from strength to strength, limited only by resources. The team has now grown to 5 full time and one part time worker.

Emily is extremely proud of her team who have all proved their worth time and time again. It takes more than just qualifications to work in Clubhouse as a staff member and the selection process can be very tough but the results speak for themselves. Clubhouse staff work side by side with the members, their job entails empowering others and it takes a special type of person to work in this manner which encompasses a generalist role without losing sight of their professional standards.

Emily Adamberry Olivero

MBE, MBPsS, C.E.O. Clubhouse Gibraltar

Emily Adamberry Olivero has a Master's Degree in Psychology (MScPsych), a Bachelors Degree in Psychology (BScPsych), and a Diploma in Counselling. She is a graduate member of the British Psychological Society.

Emily has been campaigning for a better quality of life for people who have been affected by mental illness since 1992. In the Queen’s BirthdayHonours, in June 2009 she was awarded an M.B.E. for services to the Community in the field of Mental Health. She later founded Clubhouse Gibraltar in 2011. Emily has been a civil servant since July 1973 and was seconded to Clubhouse Gibraltar in April 2012.

In December 2012, Emily completed Clubhouse training together with Tania at Massachusetts (USA) in order to ensure that Clubhouse started on the right footing and built a solid foundation for the future. Emily is determined to ensure that current and future generations of individuals who are affected by mental illness or mental health problems, should have structured professional support in the community that looks after their Health and Wellness.

Tania Aguilar

MBPsS, Deputy CEO

Tania is a qualified Psychologist and is a graduate member of the British Psychological Society. She is currently Clubhouse's Deputy CEO. Her previous work experience has been in Mental Health, managing different employment and educational programs, including European Funding Projects.

Apart from other Education and Training courses in Mental Health and Professional Development, in 2012 she completed her training in the Clubhouse Model in Massachusetts (USA), which was an invaluable experience for the establishment of Clubhouse Gibraltar. Since then, she has been working hard in order to make sure that Clubhouse Gibraltar started on the right footing and to help build a solid foundation to ensure that Clubhouse Gibraltar’s mental health support remains available for future generations.

Kevin Fowler

Senior Programs Manager

Kevin was the next welcome addition to the staff which helped Clubhouse Gibraltar grow even further with the wealth of experience he provided. He is the Projects Manager. His 20 years in mental health work have built upon a degree in Mental Health Practice, a Certificate in Management in Health and Social Care, and other related qualifications. He is also a Mental Health First Aid trainer and currently provides training courses in Gibraltar.

Kevin has worked in mental health since 1998 in UK (Leeds). He has been employed at Hostels for people with Personality Disorder and for those who are dependent on Alcohol. He has also been working in community matters such as housing for people with dual diagnoses (alcohol/drugs and mental health difficulties).

His last job before leaving the UK was to assess people who are considered high risk when leaving high secure hospitals or prisons helping them to return to the community. He has been working for Clubhouse Gibraltar since April 2014 and completed his Clubhouse Training at Mosaic Clubhouse in London in November 2014. He has proved to be a great asset to the team.

Gema Moreno

Mental Health Support Worker

Gema Moreno is a Social Worker with wide experience in the mental health field. She has worked with different groups, prisoners, youths and people having drug dependency, assessing individuals and planning actions for their reintegration into the community andworkplace.

She has also worked as Support worker in the United Kingdom for four years in the field of mental health. She was the key worker setting up targets for each person with constant follow ups to guide them in their lives generally and with regard to employment issues.

She joined Clubhouse Gibraltar in January 2017 as part of Clubhouse's expansion project. As support worker she is highly involved in guiding members and fully dedicated to their wellbeing. She has proved to be another great asset to the Clubhouse Staff and enjoys being challenged. Her personality and skills have also made an enormous difference to the difficult task of improving, managing and maintaining the Charity Shop.

Glen Simpson

Mental Health Support Worker

Glen has had a wide and varied career in the mental health field. Graduating with a BA hons in social Psychology from Edge Hill University and completing a Diploma in Person Centred Counselling. His early career started in the children’s care sector in his beloved home town of Liverpool where he dealt with numerous mental health issues and issues surrounding drug and alcohol misuse. He also worked on a floating care home, on a rolling rota of two weeks on two weeks of which housed children who were in danger or who were too high of a risk for a normal care home.

Glen then went to work in the field of adult drug and alcohol misuse with a local charity where he wrote and took a number of therapy groups. He then went to work for the youth sector of the charity in the same field. Were he was able to provide education and information on a variety of different substances and take a number of different groups.

In his spare time he also volunteered for a local charity called the Blood bikes where he delivered such things as drugs, breast milk and blood helping relieve the strain on the NHS.

Glen also ran a street food business in the UK which went to music festivals and food festival providing delicious food. He is happy that all these skills from his past are able to be utilized in Clubhouse Gibraltar

Our Board of Trustees

Clubhouse Gibraltar has an independent Board of Trustees who are charged with oversight management, fundraising, public relations and helping to develop employment opportunities for members.

Dr Rene Beguelin

Chairman

Emilio Gomez

Treasurer

Ruth Halsall

Secretary

Peter Montegriffo

QC Trustee

Richard Labrador

Trustee

Sebastian Rodriguez

Trustee

The CEO is appointed by the Board to take charge of the day to day running of the Clubhouse and to report back , as well as consulting with the Board on any necessary matters.

Decision-making and governance are an important part of the Clubhouse work. Members and staff meet in open forums to discuss policy issues and future planning for the Clubhouse.